Bullying at the University of Newcastle (Australia)

We are working to highlight and stop academic workplace bullying at the University of Newcastle, Australia. We are a group of staff and students who have been bullied for speaking out about misconduct.

Help make a difference –

*answer our survey,

*contribute to the blog, or

*contact us.

This will help us gather as much information as possible so that we can put an end to this bullying with its’ decades-long history.

“Systemic bullying, hazing and abuse generally are identified with poor, weak or toxic organizational cultures. Cultures that are toxic have stated ethical values that are espoused but not employed, and other non-ethical values which are operational, dominant, but unstated.

Such cultures thrive when good people are silent, silenced, or pushed out; when bad apples are vocal, retained, promoted, and empowered; and when the neutral majority remain silent in order to survive. Those who are most successful in such a toxic culture are those who have adapted to it, or adopted it as their own”. (McKay, Arnold, Fratzl & Thomas, 2008)

Saturday, March 8, 2014

Silencing of whistleblowers, gagging clauses and now silencing of political activities at the University of Newcastle

"The University of Newcastle Clubs and Societies is using the
legislation governing the Students Services and Amenities Fee (SSAF) as
the cover for a discriminatory attack on the democratic rights of
students who belong to student clubs associated with political parties.

The
former Labor government, with the support of the Greens, enacted the
SSAF legislation in 2011. The legislation re-imposes a compulsory fee on
students to make them pay for basic services that should be freely
provided at university campuses. It contains the stipulation that funds
raised from the fee cannot be used to support political parties or the
candidacy of a person for any political office.

The purpose of
this anti-democratic stipulation has been clear since the legislation
was introduced—to prevent student organisations from making financial
grants or donations to political parties or candidates in an election,
while no such restriction applies to granting funds to organisations of a
religious, sporting or social nature.

Now, for the first time at
any university in Australia, University of Newcastle Clubs and Societies
is re-interpreting the SSAF to justify proscribing political activities
that have been carried out on campuses for decades."
.......

"It is not accidental that the management of a university has begun to
re-interpret the fee legislation in a way that facilitates the
suppression of political activity. The political atmosphere is changing
rapidly and the conditions are emerging where large numbers of students
will be turning to politics, especially to socialist politics, to fight
against the attacks being waged by governments of all stripes on living
standards, the erosion of democratic rights and the dangers of war.

The IYSSE warns that the UoN Services’s re-interpretation of the SSAF
legislation is setting a precedent that will be used to prevent
students from developing the political means to fight these attacks
through the organisation of political lectures, classes, meetings,
debates and demonstrations.

We therefore call on all students,
student clubs and student unions across Australia to insist that UoN
Services withdraws its “interpretation” of SSAF and upholds the
democratic right of students to engage, without management interference,
in political activity on campus."